Smallsats: Potential and Regulatory Challenges

In the six months to May 2014, more than 90 small satellites were launched, representing investment by 18 countries. We are seeing a huge growth in the use of and demand for SmallSats. A recent success story is the UKube 1, the U.K. Space Agency’s (UKSA) first CubeSat mission, which was launched on July,9. The UKube 1 collaboration between the UKSA, industry (including Clyde Space and Airbus Defence and Space) and academia, will allow the United Kingdom to fly educational payloads, test innovative technology and carry out research — all at a fraction of the cost of a regular satellite. Dr. Chris Castelli, acting director of programs at the UKSA, says that the UKube 1 represents an “example of how access to space can be made cheaper and opened out to a wide range of users.”

The SmallSat market

The SmallSat market is one of the fastest growing sectors of the industry. New players, including pharmaceutical companies, are looking to the use of increasingly smaller platforms and the potential reduced cost of access to space that they offer. The reduced development timescales of SmallSats allow accelerated testing and the in-orbit demonstration of potentially disruptive technologies at lower costs and the opportunity for operationally responsive space systems to be launched at relatively short notice compared with traditional satellites. Satellite systems using multiple SmallSats have the ability to provide wider geographical coverage, more frequent revisits and the potential for resilience against environmental impacts.

Regulatory hurdles

There is a perceived wariness about SmallSats. I have witnessed, potentially ungrounded concerns expressed that SmallSat companies lack commitment to the sustainability and security of space activities, and also issues of space debris being raised.

As with any new technology, balanced against the scientific and commercial advantages of SmallSats are certain technical risks. Many SmallSats may prove to be harder to track than conventional satellites and may have limited orbit control during their operational life and at the end of a mission. Many may also have unreliable power sources and electronics at this stage in their evolution.

Governments are necessarily cautious of new technical risks: reputation at an international level is vital, and international obligations need to be complied with. Seeking individual licenses for each SmallSat within a constellation, charging fees as for traditional satellites, and licensing processes taking up to a year will however prevent this fledging industry from achieving its potential. The traditional ITU frequency coordination timescales will also negatively affect the SmallSat industry.

In WRC-12, the ITU invited member states to “examine the procedures for notifying space networks and consider possible modifications to enable the deployment and operation of nanosatellite and picosatellites, taking into account the short development time, short mission time and unique orbital characteristics.” The ITU’s Director of the Radiocommunication Bureau was charged with reporting to the WRC-15 on the results of these studies, and is to invite WRC-18 “to consider whether modifications to the regulatory procedures for notifying satellite networks are needed to facilitate the deployment and operation of nanosatellites and picosatellites.”

Regulatory certainty and transparency is vital if investment is to be attracted. I welcome this forward-thinking approach by the ITU. I would further call on national licensing authorities to work closely, even from developmental stages, with SmallSat manufacturers and operators (similar to the UKSA’s approach in relation to UKube 1). It would then be hoped that such authorities and agencies could pre-vet the technical risks and give certainty in advance as to the grant of a license, any conditions attached and seek only reasonable administrative fees — thus giving early comfort to potential investors.

The potential of SmallSats is too great not to adapt to. The regulatory framework in this bleeding-edge technological environment needs to be relatively adaptive. In the U.K. this is even more important with the possibility of a launch site that might benefits these SmallSats. VS

Joanne Wheeler is a partner at international law firm Bird & Bird.